Despite an MVP-caliber season and a division title, league insiders remain skeptical of Trevor Lawrence, placing the Jacksonville star behind fifteen other passers in a stunning new ranking.
Last season, Trevor Lawrence finally looked like the quarterback he was expected to be coming out of college.
He looked in command of the offense, made better decisions, made plays with his arm and his legs, and his brilliant second half of the season propelled him to being named a finalist for the NFL's MVP award.
Lawrence led the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 13-4 record and an AFC South division title. This is what the team envisioned when drafting him first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. It may have taken longer than expected, but it appears Lawrence has finally figured it out. Being paired with an offensive savant like head coach Liam Coen certainly helped him take a huge leap forward and should lead to even bigger things in the future.
What happened last year caused Lawrence to be seen in a different light around the league. He finally proved to be a franchise quarterback and skyrocketed up QB rankings. One ranking had Lawrence as the NFL's 11th-best QB, which may still have been too low, but represented a significant jump. Another put Lawrence in the second tier of NFL QBs, just below the guys who have dominated the league for the past several seasons.
However, a new ranking, highlighted by Mike Sando of The Athletic, shows that Lawrence may not be thought of nearly as highly as you'd expect by NFL coaches and executives. Even after a top-5 finish in MVP voting, Lawrence was only ranked 16th among NFL QBs.
A panel of 50 NFL coaches and execs ranked each QB into tiers. Points were earned based on the tier each panel member placed the QB in, then tallied. A stunning 15 quarterbacks finished with more points than Lawrence.
"The panel this year consisted of eight general managers, five assistant GMs, five former GMs and three other executives, plus nine head coaches, 10 defensive coordinators, five offensive coordinators, two offensive assistants, one defensive assistant and two coaches specializing in analytics/game management. That’s 21 execs and 29 coaches overall."
Lawrence Moved Up 2 Spots From Last Year
Lawrence actually finished in Tier 2, but was the 12th ranked QB of the 13 in the tier. During the same exercise a year ago, he finished 18th and in Tier 3.
Apparently, and MVP-caliber season isn't worth much these days.
The panel members spoke anonymously about why they voted the way they did, and here is what some of them said about Lawrence:
“Man, if there’s anybody that’s between a 2 and a 3, I would say him right now,” a former head coach said. “If he does it again this year, I could see putting him as a standing 2.”
“Trevor took a huge jump last year,” an exec said. “I’d say he was a 2 going to a 1 at the end of the year. You saw some things that you kind of thought you saw in the draft.”
“Liam is a fiery guy, and it allows that to come out of Trevor, who has never been that,” an offensive coach said. “Doug Pederson was a different style guy, so you were not going to get that out of Trevor.”
“He is going to flash for windows where you go, ‘Oh, I think he is becoming the guy,’ but you are not in Year 2 anymore,” an offensive coordinator said. “This is just kind of who you are — streaky, up and down.
“If everyone around him does their job at a high level, he has a chance, but he is never going to be able to carry anything for extended periods of time.”
Lawrence Has Yet To Earn Trust
After his first four years were disappointing, it is clear that one standout season has not earned Lawrence the trust of NFL coaches and execs. They still point to his streakiness and believe he has proven who he is, and the jump he made a year ago was more of a hot streak than Lawrence becoming a better QB.
That criticism of Lawrence is absurd. He is still only 26 years old, and finally has the benefit of being coached by someone who is one of the most respected offensive minds in the game.
2025 was Lawrence's fifth season in Jacksonville. Coen is the fourth head coach Lawrence has played for since coming to Duval. That's four different systems he has had to learn and four different personalities he has had to navigate.
Give the man some credit.
Final Thoughts
Lawrence being ranked right in the middle of NFL QBs is just silly. He hasn't done enough to be thought of among the very best, but several of the QBs ranked above him simply shouldn't be.
Coach Coen has already told his team that they will need more than one season of winning to earn respect around the league. These rankings are proof of that.
However, Coen loves that his team is being dismissed by so many heading into the season. Now his quarterback is as well. This will be more bulletin board material for the Jaguars and another group of critics they can prove wrong.
Don't be surprised if Lawrence has another season worthy of MVP consideration.
If he does, maybe he can at least crack the top 15 next year.
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